Spraying apparatus



Aug. 8, 1933. A, 0. PRICE SPRAYING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 6, 1951 I J N V ENTOR. afe'e er (9 may,

W ATTORN -Y Aug. 8, 1933. A. 0. PRICE SPHAYING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 6, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I NVENTOR. 6

'ATTORNE Patented Aug; 8, 1933] UNITED STA My invention relates broadly tospraying apparatus and more particularly to a compact construction of automatic intermittently con-- trolled spraying apparatus for handling a predetermined amount of fluid at predetermined time intervals under pressure. 1

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a construction ofautomatic and intermit tent fluid operating apparatus which may be connected to the usual water supply main for intermittently spraying fluid at predetermined time intervals. Another object of my invention is to provide a construction of fluid control apparatus which may .be interposed between a connection to a fluid supply and a spraying device for intermittently and automatically spraying fluid at predetermined time intervals.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a compact apparatus unit. adapted to be connected between a fluid supply system anda spraying device with a pressure control device adapted to intermittently actuate a lever system for opening a valveto a spray line atnperiodic intervals for: effecting an intermittent spraying operation. V I A further object of my invention is to provide an apparatus unit of portable construction including a fluid reservoir and pressure regulator controlled thereby withan inlet connection tofa fluid supply system and an outlet connection to a valve system adapted to be intermittently controlled by the pressure regulator for effecting a spraying of fluid at predetermined time inter- A still 'further object of my invention'is to provide an arrangementof balanced and tensioned lever system for fluid spraying apparatus whereby an intermittent change of pressure may be employed to control the operation of 'a valvei connected to a fluid spray line for effecting an intermittent spraying operation at' predetere mined time intervals. t

Other and further objects'of for a fluid spraying system asset forth more fullyin the'specification hereinafter following" ing apparatus; Figl' z is a side elevation of the control: apparatus 01' my invention drawnupon; a somewhat enlarged scale ;-'Fig. 3 is-a top plan f r, v my invention re side in the'constructio'n of control mechanism view of .the'apparatus shown in Fig.2 Fig. is

a central verticaLlOngitudinaI sectional vview showing the control apparatus-in normal position withthe supply valve on the extreme left opened to admit fluid pressure to the apparatus for-filling up the reservoir on the. apparatus;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view oflthe apparatus shown in the preceding figuresjwith arrows in dicating 'the intake and discharge connections for the fluid; .Fig. 6 is a centrallon itudinalsec-v tional view of the apparatus showing \the reservoir partially. filled in the course of operation of the spraying apparatus; Figzrfl is a transverse vertical sectional, view. through the control apparatus on line 7-7 of Fig. '2; and Fig., 8 is a transverse sectional viewthrough the apparatus of myrinvention on line 8 8 of Fig. 2.

The apparatus of my invention is intended v for intermittent spraying of golf greens, vflower gardens, vegetable gardens, lawns, etc., 'and is also adapted for connection between a fluid supply line and a supply line which may extend example, on vegetable display stands for. maintaining the vegetables. .in a ire sh condition.

to any number of spraying imits' mounted, for

'I he apparatus of my invention is portable and may accordingly be used: for many difierentpurposes where ,it; may be desirable to automati .cally and intermittently deliver -a predetermined.

amount of fluid at [predetermined intervals under pressure without waste otfluid. My;in-

reservoir and a pressurecontrol valve actuated, by the fluid within the reservoir tocorrespondadaptedto actuate a valve to a spraylin'e when vention'; provides a portable unit including a j a predetermined pressureyh'as .been established within the fluid reservoir. i

Referring to the drawin s in detail; the apparatus of my inventionis 'showni mounted upon a channel shaped base A havingfluid inlet valve ,2 at one end and a spray outlet valve 12 at the opposite end, A connefitiqn' is made to the water supply faucet. or tap indicated at C through a suitable hose which includes, in series *therewith a pressure regulatorvalve 1. which is in turn connected with the intake valve 2 at the'tap connection 2c. The'Fintake valve 2.,isa needle valve device having a hand i'control. wheel thereon-,-'suitably calibrated withj respect -jto a fixed marker {for adjustment for the obtaining adjusting wheel of the hand valvcindicatedjat of required pressure. The lcalibratedqscale. is i i placed upon the'face ,or peripheral edge ofthe ingly control a balanced -lever q mechanism to the required position. By reason of the calibration of the handle wheel 2a., this wheel may be resetv at the same place from time'to time in order that the required amount of water may be passed through the apparatus within agiven length of time. From the needle valve'2 the water is conveyed through pipe 3 to the T connection 4 (shown more clearly in Fig. 3 into the cylindrical reservoir 5. The reser'voir 5 is formed by a tube closed at the upper end and having an annular flange 5a at the base thereof secured to the channel shaped. base A by bolts 51) which pass through the peripheral edge of the resilient diaphragm 6 and through the annular supporting ring 5c. Disposed beneath the resilient diaphragm 6, I' provide a plunger '7 of oval shape connected to a stem 7a which passes through the guide 71) in the chan nel shaped support A and is moved vertically under control of the expansion or contraction of "the resilient diaphragm '6. The stem 7a of the plunger 7 abuts against the lever 8 as shown. Thelever '8 isthe right angularly bent member having ahorizontal portion extending beneath the channel shaped frame A and upwardly disposed portion integrally connected therewith and projecting vertically adjacent the end of :the channel shaped frame A. The lever B is pivoted withrespect to the base A between a pair or depending angle members 15 attached tothe under surface of the'base A. The lever 8 is' providedwith amultiplicity of apertures 8a, Sband 8c adjacent the end thereof whereby the fulcrum pin 16 may be adjustably located'at anyone of the several apertures. The remote end of thelever 8 is confined for movement in a vertical path by means of depending angularly shaped guides 17 secured to the'under surface of the support A. The lever' is also provided with aseries of perforations at 8d,-8e and-8ffor the attachment of the spring 9 which tends to constantlyurge the lever 8 in a vertically upward direction in continuous contact with the end of the stem '70. of plunger 7. The

'member 18 by means'of wing nut'21.

spring 9 extends vertically upward through a tube18 and connects to an eyelet 19 formed onth'eend of screw threaded member 20 which maybe adjusted through the end 18a of tubular The tubular member 18 is secured to the base A by a screw threaded flange-22 bolted to the base A "'by bolt members indicated at 22a., Bufiers are provided around each end of the tubular member 18 as shown at23and 24.

It will be observed that the exterior of the tube 18"is screw threaded at each end thereof and that-thebufiers23 and 24 are correspondingly screw threaded so that these buffers may be adjusted alongtubular member 18 for limiting the" angular movement of' spring control lever 11. The spring controllever 11 is pivoted at 25 upon angle member 26 which is secured to the spray control'valve 12. The lever 11-is bifurcated' or formed in twoparts which spread aroundthe tube 18 as represented at 2'7 to allow angular movement of the lever 11. The -por-' tions of the lever 11: are again joined on the opposite side of tube 18 and spread to form a T' head'as shown at 28. The vertically projecting end'of the lever 8 is alsoprovided with a- Tjhead or laterally projecting member 29- in theupper extremity thereof, and. between the remote endsof the T head 29 and the T'head 28 I provide'f'coil springs 10 linking levers 11 and 8' together under tension. The fluid outlet for vegetable display stands, the spray line 13 is connected to any number of nozzles which may be readily installed. The reservoir 5 is connected to the spray valve 12 through pipe 31 for supplying fluid to the spray valve 12 when the spray valve is opened under control of the levers 8' and 11. With the arrangement of lever shown in Figs. 1', 2 and 4, the spraying apparatusis cut off and there is no intermittent spray effected at the spraying device 14. In the position shown in Fig. 6, the sprayer control mechanism is shown in actuated condition for the intermittent spraying of fluid from the sprayer'device. In the position shown in Fig. 6, the valve stem 32 of sprayer control valve 12 is depressed by the downward movement of lever 11, thereby effecting the intermittent spraying operation of the apparatus. When the pressure in the tank or reservoir 5 fills up slowly through the needle valve 2 to a value more than the tension offered by spring 9 against lever 8, the stem 7a: of plunger '7 forces the lever 8 downward. The water in'reservoir 5 builds up against acushion of air which is compressed within reservoir 6 as shown at B. This compression creates a substantial pressure within the reservoir 5 which forces the resilient diaphragm fidownward as shown at Fig. 5; thereby moving plunger '7 and stem 7a which is attached thereto, 7 The upwardly, projecting end of lever 8 is thus pulled down thereby increasing the tension on springs 10 and moving lever 11' by a small increment sufficient to shift the lever 11 overcenter and open the spray control valve 12 by depressing the stem 32. When valve 12 is open, the'water from reservoir 5 rushes out through the sprayline 13 until the pressure in reservoir 5 has been diminished to such an extent as to allow the reservoir diaphragm 6 to resume normal position as illustrated in F'ig. 4, .whereupon lever 8 rises under pressure of. spring 9, shifting springs 10 upwardly, thereby 1 again unbalancing lever 11 and causing upward angular movement of lever 11 releasing stem 32 and closing valve ,12. As valve- 12 closes the water through ,theneedle valve 2 .again slowly builds up pressure inthe reservoir 5 and the cycle is repeated.

suspension of 'lever 8 and the connection of spring 9 thereto. That is, the fulcrum 16 may be shifted as well as a change in the connection of spring 9 to thelever .8 is provided. The regulation may be adjusted for any timing from, for example, intervals of two minutes to intervals of two hours. g j

The operation of the system of myinvention is as followsz-When the pressure in the supply source slowly builds up a pressure in the reservoir to exceed the pressure caused by the expan-. sion spring 9, the spring '9'expands and allows the'main lever 3 to move'downwardfar-enough tocarry the secondary lever 11 over center for opening valve '12. 'When valve 12 is open the liquid in the reservoir is released through'the valveto the spraynozzles 14. The pressure in the reservoir is then quickly'lowered to equal the tension of the expansion spring 9"allowing the main lever 8 to 'move upward-carryingwith it the secondary lever which allows the valve 12 to close. The time intervals'between spraying periods are controlled by the adjustment of needle valve 2 between the supply'sourceand the reservoir 5.

I' have found the apparatus of "my invention extremely practical in its manufacture and construction, and inexpensive of assembly on a quantity production basis; J

fWhile I have describedzny invention in one of its preferred embodiments, I' desire that "it be understood that modifications may be'made andthat no limitations upon my invention are intended other than are imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. Spraying apparatus comprising a supporting structure, a fluid reservoir carried by said structure, means for admitting fluid from a fluid supply source at a predetermined rate to said fluid reservoir, a sprayer valve connected with said reservoir, a pair of pivotally mounted levers, spring means interconnecting the ends of said levers, an actuator extending between one of said levers and said sprayer valve and means contacting with the other of said levers and controlled by the pressure within said reservoir for effecting a shifting movement of said levers under conditions of change of pressure in said reservoir for effecting movement of said valve actuator and maintaining said sprayer valve in open position so long as the pressure in said reservoir substantially exceeds the effect of said spring means.

- 2. Sprayer apparatus comprising a supporting structure, a fluid reservoir carried thereby, means for admitting fluid at a predetermined rate from a fluid supply source to said fluid reservoir, a sprayer valve connected with said fluid reservoir, a pair of levers, one of said levers being pivoted adjacent one end of said frame structure, the other of said levers being pivoted adjacent the opposite end of said frame structure, said first mentioned lever extending in the direction of said second mentioned lever and having an end portion extending upwardly adjacent the journal of said second mentioned lever, spring means interconnecting the ends of said levers, a valve actuator controlled by said second mentioned lever, and means controlled by the pressure in said reservoir foreffecting movement of said first mentioned lever for correspondingly moving said second mentioned lever and shifting said valve actuator for maintaining said sprayer valve open so long as the pressure in said reservoir substantially exceeds the effect of said spring means.

' 3. Spraying apparatus comprising a longitudinally extending frame structure, a fluid reservoir mounted adjacent one end of said frame structure, means for admitting a predetermined flow of fluid to said reservoir from a fluid supply source, a sprayer valve mounted adjacent the opposite end of said frame structure and connected with said fluid reservoir, a pair of longitudinally extending levers, one of l J 4. Spraying apparatus comprising a longitudinally extending frame structure, a fluid resersaid levers extending beneathsaid frame structure and journalled adjacent the reservoir at one end of saidframe structure, the opposite end of said lever projecting upwardly to a position above said frame structure, the second of said levers being journalled adjacent said sprayer valve, spring means interconnecting theends of, said lever members. for normally maintaining said lever members in' a balanced-position, a valve actuator for said sprayer valve'controlled by said second mentioned lever member and meanscontrolled by the pressure in said fluid reservoir for shifting said first mentioned lever member and unbalancing said second mentioned lever .member'for effecting movement thereof and shifting said valve actuator for opening said valve for a'time period equal to the interval of n time during which the pressure'of' said reservoir substantially exceeds the effect of saidspring means.

voir mounted adjacent one end of said frame structure, means for admitting a predetermined flow of fluid to said reservoir from a fluid supply source, a sprayer valve mounted adjacent the opposite end of said frame structure and connected with said fluid reservoir, a pair of longitudinally extending levers, one of said levers extending beneath said frame structure and j ournalled adjacent the reservoir at one end of said frame .structure, the opposite end of said lever projecting upwardly to a position above said frame structure, the second of said levers being journalled adjacent said sprayer valve, spring means interconnecting the ends of said lever members for normally maintaining said lever members in a balanced DQSition, independent spring means for maintaining said first mentioned lever member under predetermined tension, a valve actuator for said sprayer-., I valve controlled by said second mentioned lever member, and means controlled by the pressure in said'fiuid reservoir for shifting said first men tioned lever member and unbalancing said second mentioned lever member for effecting movement thereof and. shifting said valve actuator for opening said valve for a time period equal to the interval of time during which the pressure of said reservoir substantially exceeds the effect of said spring means.

5. Spraying apparatus comprising a frame structure, a fluid reservoir mounted on said frame structure, means for-admitting fluid at a predetermined rate to said reservoir from a fluid supply, source, a sprayer valve connected with" said reservoir, a pair of lever members fulcrumed adjacent opposite ends of said frame structure, a valve actuator extending between one of saidlever members and said sprayer valve, tension means interconnecting said levers for normally maintaining said levers inequilibrium with said valve actuator in a position closing said sprayer'valve, and means controlled by the establishment of a predetermined prese, sure in said reservoir for unbalancing the equilibrium of said lever members for effecting an operation of said valve actuator for maintaining said sprayer valve openfor a time period equal to the interval during which the pressure in said reservoir substantially exceeds the effect of saidtension means.

6. Spraying apparatus comprising a frame structure, a fluid reservoir -mounted on said predete'rmined rate to said reservoir from a fluid supply source, a sprayer valve connected with said reservoir, a pair of lever members fulcrumed adjacent opposite ends of .said frame structure, a valve actuator extending between one of said lever members and said sprayer valve, means interconnecting said levers, spring means for subjecting one of said levers to predetermined tension and means controlled by the establishment of a predetermined pressure in said reservoir for overcoming the last mentioned tension means and shifting the position of said last mentioned lever forunbalancing the equilibrium of said second mentioned lever and operating said valve actuator for opening said sprayer valve for a time period equal to the interval during which the pressure in said reservoir substantially exceeds the effect of said spring means.

'7. Spraying apparatus comprising aframe structure, a reservoir, means for admitting fluid at a predetermined rate to said reservoir from actuator in a. position for closing said sprayer valve, and means controlled by the establishment of a predetermined pressure in said reservoir'for shifting one of said levers and unbalancing the equilibrium thereof for operating said valve actuator and opening said sprayer valve for a time period equal to the time interval during which the pressure in said reservoir. substantially exceeds vthe effect of said spring means. 7

ALBERT 0. PRICE. 

